Float valve



March 24, 1953 c. KERR y 2,632,464

FLOAT VALVE Filed Dec. 1e, 1949 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Gttomeg c. E. KERR FLOAT `VALVE:

Marh 24, 1953 Filed Dec. 16, 1949 4 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 F 'I IE'. :El

' nventor CHARLES E. KERR.

Gttorneg y opened condition.

Patented Mar. 24, 1953 :FLOAT VALVE Charles E. Kerr, Hoopeston, Ill., assignor to Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation, San Jose, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application December 16, 1949, Serial No. 133,251

The present invention relates to a float valve` and is directed more particularly to a float valve especially suited foruse in controlling `liquid levels in food processing machinery.

.InV many types of equipment used in food processing it is necessary to maintain a tank of syrup, 'brine or other liquid or fluent material such as heavysoups and'crushed or strained vegetables-, atan accurately controlled liquid level, so-that theliquid-headin the tank will be maintained substantially constant.` It may be necessaryffrequently to change the liquid in the float valve controlled vtank from one type toanother, and at such times it is essential that all `parts of thevalvevexposed to the material be cleaned thoroughly:Y Mostftypes of -valve `used .forthis purpose are not easily cleaned,. and frequently arediicult to adjust so that the necessarily accurate head .will be maintained. An object of thepresentinventon is to provide a, simple and effective oat `valve. Y

1 4Another Objectis to make a oat Valve wherein the` oatmechanism yis `not required to operate against. substantial `liquid pressure or head.

Another ,object is toy proVidea Aoat valve the parts of which may be veasily cleaned.

i Another object is to provide a float Valve wherein float actuated mechanism is arranged toA controlliquid pressure on opposite sides of `a main valve actuating piston. l

Another object is to provide a piston actuated valve, with a oatcontrolled secondary valve whereby the rate of ow through the Valve is controlledby changes in positionofthe `float from .a predetermined liquid ysupported position.

a Another object is to provide a piston actuated valve withan adjustable by-pass valve and a oat controlledQsecondary valve whereby actuation' of the secondary Valve may .be regulated by adjust- `rnlentuof the by-pass valve. These and other objects and advantagesof the presentpinvention will become apparent in the following description andl the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a iioat valve s' claims. (o1. la7-413)" 2 4 Referring to the drawings in detail, amvalve housing or chamber I0 isof cylindrical cup shape and may be of cast metal 'such asbrass. Alateral inlet passage lll into ,the Valvevchamber is provided by a tubular extension at one side ofthe lower portion of the chamber. This inletextension is threadedon its outer end and is adapted to have a supply pipe I2. connected theretoby a fitting I3 of a usual type.-` Anoutlet passage i4 also is provided bya tubular extension fromthe lower end of the vvalye. chamber and is connected to an outlet pipe,l I 5.b`y a ttirlg similar to that on the inlet extension.

a The supply pipelz is adaptedl toibeconnected in a usual mannerto a supply of fluentjmateral',

' such as a liquidunder suitable head or pressure to introduce the material into the 1 chamber '10, T he outlet pipe. I5 adapted todischargeinto a usual oat tank, not shownythe vlevel-of liquid lin which isto be controlled .by the present valve.` A raised Valve seat I1 is'proyided .around the upper end of the outlet passage 1.4,' and ab main Valve IB is adaptedto seat thereon. Themain valve I8 has a -head portion` i9 with `truncated conical upper. surface 20 and a flatlower face beneath which anfann'ular sealing gasketV 2l is mounted. 'A threaded central boss 22 extends downwardly from the nat lower face of the valve head I9, and a nut 23, said nut having an outside diameter slightly lessthan the inside diameter i of the outlet. passage, is adaptedtol be screwed thereon to secure the gasket 2l in position.V

Four integrally formed radially disposedguide Vanes 24 extenddownw-ardlyirom thelower side of thennut 23, and are arrangedv symmetrically .i around the central axis ofthe threadedopening embodying the present invention, parts1 of the i f valve being ,brokenaway along a vertical median plane, the -valve being closed. A 4 Fig. 2 is a plan view of the valve shown in Fig. 1, portions 4thereof being `broken away and fragmentsof an adjustable oat arm and float being shown. f Fig. 3 is a View in reduced scale similar to Fig. 1 `showing thefparts Ain Afloat depressed, valve through the nut. The outer edges of'the guide vanes 24 areparallel to the valve axis when the parts are assembled as shown in Figs.l and, and have a freely slidable t within the outlet passage lto guide the main valve i8 in itsvertical CIJ?. erating movements. f f

The main valve |48 has an upright stem'portion 25 with a `central bore or passage ill` extending throughout the length of the valve. a 'f A pressure sensitivepiston 25 foi-actuating the main valve is formed integrally With-the upper end ofthe Valve stem 2.5, and has a Workngflt in the cylindrical Valve chamber l0'. Ring grooves 29 are provided about the periphery of the piston 23 and hydraulic sealing rings 30 of a usual type aremounted in these grooves to provide" alfluid tight seal between the piston and the wallfof the valve chamber. y v

An upwardly extending by-pass passage 3f` is provided in the Wall of the chamber I to communicate between the inlet passage II and the upper end of the valve chamber I0 above the piston 26. A port 32 opens from the by-pass passage into the valve chamber, the marginal edge surrounding the outer end of the port comprising a valve Seat for a by-'pass needle valve 33, having a threaded lshank which is screwedintoja threaded hole through the wall of the chamber axially outwardly from the port 32. the by-pass needle valve in adjusted position.

A cover plate 35 is mounted to t over and chamber I 0, and the upper'zend of the-upright by-pass passage 3I, and also extendsovera laty erally oiset portion 31 of the valve chamber .in which is mounted a portion of' the' llo-at vcontrol mechanism to be described later herein. .The cover plate is secured to the upper edge of the .chamber wall by cap screws 38.,- and has an upwardlyextending-drilled boss 39 centrally thereof, in the bore of which the upper portion 40 of a oat controlled needle valve 4I is mounted for .free-vertical guided movement.

f'llhe sides of the upperY portion 40 of the oat controlled needle valve are relieved as at 42 to permit .the .free passage of fluid therethrough, thereby' .to avoid fluidy lock Vof the needle valve iii-lts vertical'movements 'in the bore of the boss`39.

Thelioat controlled needle valve 4I has' a usual conical needle valve nose 43 formedl on its lower end which is `adapted to have needle valve engagefnentwithV a seat 44 surrounding'the upper ed ofthe axial bore 42'! through the main valve 1.8. An annular groove 45 isv provided around the-float controlled valve needle 4`I between the [upperguide portion40 thereof and the lower conical valve nose portion, to receive the rounded bifurcated end portions 4l of a float cnil'lld level" alm 48.

The lioat controlled lever' arm 48 is secured 'inadjusted position on a rock' shaft 49 by a pin 50 ."(Fig. 1)'having a threaded head portion 5I which is screwed into a correspondingly threade'd holeY in the hub of the lever arm' 4.8. Thev rock s'l'raftv 49 (Fig. 2) is journaled in an externally threaded 'bushing 52v which is screwed into a correspondingly threaded hole through' a boss 53 which extends laterally from the' onset 'portion 37 of the'valve'chamber. The rock shaft 49 has van integrally :formed annular ilanjge 49a thereon,

which' is'ladapted to" litr closely against the inner of' the threaded bushing 52'to'seal against vthe `passage of liquid outwardly from the vvalve ,chamber between the bushing-52 and the Yroel:

A lock nut 34 secures 4 ed stem 65 of a iloat ball 61 is adapted to be screwed therein and secured in adjusted position by a lock nut 68.

and drops downwardly in the iloat tank under thevforce of gravity, it swings the rock shaft 49 and-the connected lever arm 48 in a counterclock-wise direction toward the position illustratedinFig. '3'.

This pivotal movement of the lever arm 48 causes it to raise the float operated needle valve 41|v Aupwardly-:ol l.of its seat, thereby opening a reliefpassage from the upper portion of the float chamber I0 above the-piston 28 to the outlet passage I4 through the -axial bore 2'I of the main valve t8. This action reduces thepressure lin this upper portion of the valve chamber 'below that of the inlet passage l I.

The unbalance of pressure between the liquid in the inlet passage H and the upper portion of the valve chamber above the piston thus produced, causes the pressurized liquid to-ilow from the inlet passage I'I through the by-pass `passage 3|, the: needle V valve controlled byepass -port V-3'2 and the main valve bore'l-at'fa; rate which is con trolled 4by the adjustedposition fof theby-'pass needle valve 3'3 in thefby-pass port 3-'2-'and the amountl of 'opening of the float Acontrol-led needle valve 4I. 'The lay-pass passage should be restricted to' an extent wherethe 'ow therethrough will be considerably less 'than vthat through vthe relief passage through the main valve so that the opening of the relief passage will Icause a substantial drop in pressure i-n the upper portion of the valve chamber which Will not be compensated for by the flow through the b-y-pass passage.

The lower side Aof the piston 28, when the main valve I8 is closed, is exposed to the vpressure of the material in the inlet passage H, Awhile the upper sideof the piston, when the `float controlled needle valve is open, is exposed to the reduced pressurein Vthe upper portion of the cylinder caused by the opening of the relief passage through the main valve to the outlet passage.

arm" 55 has a disk-like portionY 59 with serrated face 60. adapted to contact a similarly serrated face on a second similar disk-like portion BI haifmg a float stem receiving boss 62 extending axially therefrom. The second disk-like member 6 I has .a threaded post 63 extending axially 'ther'efr'oinA which is adapted to be inserted through a central opening in the rst disk-like pc'rtio'nl 59, and the disk portions are clamped together in angularly adjusted position .by a .thumbscrew 64. The boss 62 has a threaded hole diametricallytherethrough and thethread- This unbalance of pressure on oppositesides of the piston raises the piston and thereby opens themain valve I8, permitting 'the pressurized material `from the inlet passage Il to flow through the'lower portion of thefvalve chamber,` past the thus openedmain valve; andinto the float tank.

It will be noted that Vthe 'main valve. I8 has a tendency toseat itself, especially lwhen in the closed position, due to the differencein pressures between the upper and ylower sides of the valve head I9. As will be noted-in Fig. 1 the pressure within the lower portion of the valve chamber is exerted on the upper side of the valve head I9, while only the head pressure, if any, of the liquid in the float tank at thedepth Where the lower side of the valve head is located isI exerted on the lower side of the valve head. It is obvious that if the liquid level in the float tank is below the level of the main valve head I9 the pressure on the exposed under side of the valve head will be valve' head I9 however, the muchlarger effective Apressure,areas on the actuating piston 28 insure that this self closing tendency exerted by the valve head will not adversely affect the operation yoi. the valve.v n

As long as-the liquid level in the float tank iswell below that at which the valve is adapted tobefully closed by the oat as shown. in Fig. 1, the oat operated. needle valve 4I will be elevated from its seat as shown in Fig. 3; As the iioat tank becomes filled however, and the float 61 rises, being buoyed up bythe liquid in the float tank, `the rock shaft 49 andl lever arm 48 will bev rotated from the open condition of Fig. `3 in a clockwise direction toward the closed condition shown in FienV l.; As the float actuated valve needle 4I approaches its seat on the upper end of the, main valve I 8, the flow of material through the central bore of the valve will be restricted, thereby tending to raise the pressure on the upper side ofthe piston. Y When the main valve I8 is open, the pressure inthe lower portion of the valve chamber is reduced since it is in communication past the main valve head I9 and through the outlet passage I4 with the float chamber. The increase of pressure on the upper side of the piston therefore, due to the restriction of iiow through the relief passage 21 through the main valve, imposed by the partial closing of the iioat controlled needle valve 4I, will urge the piston 28 downward, moving the seat thereon for the float controlled valve needle 4I downwardly away from the needle until the relief bore through the main valve again is opened sufficiently to balance the pressures on the upper and lower sides of the piston 28 and thereby arrest further downward movement of the main valve. The flow of material into the upper portion of the valve chamber through the yby-pass passage may be controlled by adjustment of the by-pass restricting needle valve 33, to vary the rate at which the flow of material through the by-pass into the upper portion of the valve chamber compensates for the changes in conditions mentioned previously herein.

" elevated to a position where both the float controlled needle valve 4I and the main valve I8 are closed. Since there is practically no resistance imposed by the needle valve 4I on the operation of the oat mechanism, the present valve is extremely sensitive and maintains the level of the liquid in the float tank within close limits.

After use the entire Valve mechanism can be easily flushed out by forcing a cleaning fluid such as hot water or steam into the inlet passage II and moving the float arm 55 up and down alternately to open and` close the needle valve 4I This causes the cleaning fluid to operate the various parts of the valve in an obvious manner and to reach all parts of the valve for rinsing and cleaning them.

For a more thorough cleaning, or for repair or replacement of parts, the cover plate 35 may be removed, and the float controlled needle valve 4I may be tilted outwardly and removed from between the bifurcations 41 of the lever arm 48. The threaded securing pin l! then may be removed to free the lever arm 48 for swinging upwardly about the rock shaft 49. This permits the mai-n Valve and piston member lI8 to be withdrawn upwardly from the float chamber, which completes the disassembly of the device. The

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parts may be reassembled by reversing the above procedure. e v "While I have described a preferred embodiment of my present invention, it will be understood, however, that various changes and modifications may be made in the details thereof withoutl departing from the spirit-and scope of the appendant claims. Y' Having thus described lthe invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patentis as follows:` l

l. A oat valve for food processing machines, adapted to control the'flow of fluent material from a supply thereof under pressure through a pipe and into afloat tank; comprisingfa main valve mounted to control theow of material through said pipe, a compartment open-alt one lend thereofand separated from said pipe and in` communication therewith througha passage, removable cover meansmounted to seal the open end of said compartment, means-forcentrolling flow ofmaterial through saidpassage, a pressure sensitive member mounted in said compartment andoperatively connected to the main valve and exposed on one side thereof to pressure Within said pipe and on the other side thereof to pressure within said compartment, a relief passage communicating from the compartment to a lower pressure area exteriorly thereof, a relief valve mounted wholly within -said compartment and adapted to control flow of material through said y the open end of the compartment and extending exteriorly thereof, a lever arm releasably secured to the rocking element so as to be rotated thereby and adapted operatively to engage said relief valve, and iioat means mounted on an exterior portion of the rocking element and adapted to operate said lever arm and thereby said relief valve, said arm being pivotally movable clear of said compartment upon removal of said cover and the release of the arm from Vthe rocking element so that the arm is rotatable on the rocking element, thereby to free the valves and pressure-sensitive member for removal from the compartment.

2. A oat valve for food processing machines comprising a cylindrical chamber having one open end, an inlet and an endwise opening outlet, said inlet being adapted to be connected to a supply of uent material under pressure, a laterally offset compartment formed on said chamber and opening thereto, a cover plate removably mounted to close the open end of said chamber, a main valve head movable axially of said chamber to control said outlet, a piston carried by said valve head to operate in said chamber, said main valve head and piston having a continuous relief passage therethrough, .a relief valve mounted for guided movement lengthwise of said chamber into sealing engagement with said relief passage, a float controlled shaft pivotally mounted in a wall of said offset compartment and sealed thereto, and a valve actuating arm releasably secured in adjusted position to said shaft so as to be rotated thereby and releasably engaging said relief valve for operation of the relief Valve upon a iioat controlled movement of said arm,` said arm being pivotally movable upon removal of said cover plate and release of the arm from said float controlled shaft so that the arm is rotatable on said shaft, thereby to clear the cylindrical chamber and to free the piston and main valve head for lengthwise removal from the chamber.

3. A oat valve for food processing machines comprising a cylindrical chamber having one open end, an inlet and an endwise opening outlet, said inlet being adapted to be connected to a supply of fluent material under pressure,lan endywise opening, a ylaterally oiset compartment `formed on said chamber at the open end thereof and opening thereto, a cover plate `removably mounted to close the open end of said chamber and of the oiset compartment thereof, a main valve head movable axially of said chamber to control said outlet, a valve stem extending from said valve head lengthwise of said chamber, a piston mounted on said Valve stem to operate in said chamber, said main valve head, stem and lpiston having a continuous relief passage therethrough, -a by-pass passage communicating between the portions of the chamber'on opposite -of said oiset compartment and sealed thereto,

and a valve actuating arm releasably secured to 8 said shaft so as to berotated thereby and releasably engaging said relief valve f -or operation ofthe relief valve upon a oat controlled movement of said arm, said arm being pivotally mov-V able upon removal of said cover plate and release of the arm from said float controlled shaft so that the arm is rotatable on said shaft,rthereby to clear the cylindrical Chamber and free the piston, stem and main valve head for endwise removal from the chamber.

CHARLES E. KERR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,955,495 Hack Apr. 17, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number y Country Date 8,179 Great Britain Apr. 25, 1895 

